Assessment of Electric Vehicle Readiness of St. Petersburg Transport Infrastructure

Abstract

The article presents an assessment of electric vehicle readiness of the transport infrastructure of the city of St. Petersburg. The relevance of the topic is obvious since today there is an active growth in the electric vehicle market, and its further development is on the official agenda of the transport industry. It is noted that the active use of electric vehicles in Russia implies the corresponding development of infrastructure, especially in such large cities as St. Petersburg.The authors have described core studies on the prerequisites and prospects for development of the electric vehicle market and relevant transport infrastructure. The analysis of various factors for popularisation of electric vehicles allowed to conclude that scientific literature does not contain fully developed methodology for assessing the rate of electric vehicle readiness of the transport infrastructure. The most significant factors influencing the scaling of electric vehicles have been identified and analysed allowing to identify criteria and indicators for assessing the electric vehicle readiness of infrastructure, to determine the weight of each criterion and to carry out an analysis of the current state of the urban infrastructure. Achieving of the objective of the research which is the assessment of electric vehicle readiness of the transport infrastructure of the city of St. Petersburg, was facilitated by authors’ system approach, analysis, integrated and expert assessments.The methodology for calculating the rate of readiness to use new transport solutions comprises assessment of four components. The analysis of scientific works helped to identify the factors influencing development and popularisation of electric vehicles. It was revealed that the most significant factor determining the pace of dissemination of electric vehicles is the availability of infrastructure.The conclusion is made about the better development in the city of such elements as operation of an electric charging stations (ECS) and an information system. The calculation of final assessment of the transport infrastructure of St. Petersburg is shown in the table.The study has allowed to obtain a general assessment of the electric vehicle readiness of the transport infrastructure, as well as to assess each element of electric vehicle system.